Tag Archives: Camp Brethren Woods

This past week the team enjoyed a few days at Brethren Woods and then was off to a very busy schedule at Annual Conference. At Brethren Woods, we led one session with each unit, focusing on our “Just Peace” workshop, in which campers think about how different questions are just or unjust. At Annual Conference, we did this same session with junior high and senior high participants at the age group activities. Another exciting part of our time at Annual Conference was leading games, crafts, and storytelling with the K-2 activities! It was quite a busy week traveling from Maryland to Virginia, to North Carolina, and ending in Florida – but it was filled with learning, sharing, fellowship, and fun.

Hey, y’all! Wow, what a great week. I absolutely LOVED getting to go to Brethren Woods and Annual Conference. First of all, I spent a week counseling at Brethren Woods last summer, so it was really fun to go to a place where I was at least a little familiar and had some previous ties too. Not to mention, I go to school near Harrisonburg so it felt like going home in a way. The people there were amazing and we got to spend some time talking with the staff as well as connecting with campers. I even saw a few of my campers from last year! Also, a former Youth Peace Travel Team member even helped us with a family meeting, providing some extra guidance and insight, and encouragement. I hated to leave so early, but going to Annual Conference was pretty amazing too. I got to see some of my church family for the first time in a while, and I realized just how much I missed them. The business was really great-despite differences in belief and theology; what I was able to listen in on sounded respectful and loving. Worship spoke so strongly to this, too. Discussing our differences and working through conflict in love, and doing all of this with Christ as the center through which we are united, is crucial. We also experienced some great discussion in our sessions with the youth, and we got to help serve in a number of different booths and activities. I think what I loved most, though, was seeing people from my home congregation, past and present. Their love and encouragement means so much to me and I really loved getting to spend some quality time with them. Overall it was a great week, and I’m excited to be heading to Florida next! I hope Camp Ithiel is ready for us! – Phoebe

Greetings pals! We have just finished up our time at Brethren Woods and Annual Conference. It has been one of our busier weeks so far in my opinion. So many things to do and people to see! One of my highlights from the week was having our weekly “family meeting” hosted by a former YPTT member at Brethren Woods. This was our most difficult family meeting yet. And seeing that this was our most difficult meeting and how smooth and full of love it was, is an insight to the blessing it is to be working with this group of individuals. Our Brethren Woods mentor ended our meeting time with some feedback, saying “I am amazed that you are able to speak so intentionally to each other.” This phrase really touched my heart. Even though we all come from different places, different working styles, and different personalities it is always a joy to come together for a shared passion of peace, justice, and camp. My favorite thing about being a part of this team is getting to dive into what it means to live peacefully and actively love our neighbors and then having the immediate opportunity to live out our teachings. I am so blessed and respected by these gals, I hope to take the message of speaking the truth in love with me anywhere God may lead me. It was also one of God’s many well timed plans, that this lesson touched my heart right before Annual Conference. I was nervous about going into this conference as a young adult with so many “controversial” topics at hand. However, I was amazingly pleased to see everyone speaking their truth in respectful fashions. Even as communications get tough, days get long, and we become tired. We are all children of God. We are all called to be peacemakers.

Blessings, Kiana

Although our time was short at Brethren Woods, I would like to thank the staff for the especially warm welcome that we received. One of the many blessings of this summer for me has been the chance to engage with young adults in leadership in the church. One of my favorite activities to lead and participate in this summer has quickly become an exercise from our Just Peace workshop. Each individual must decide if they think a certain activity is just, unjust, or somewhere in the middle. We encourage counselors to participate and each week, I am humbled by the contributions that they graciously provide. Each help me think about the questions in a new way, which I can then share with campers in upcoming weeks. From this week, I will remember that perhaps sitting with someone new could be made more just by inviting them to the table where others are already sitting and invite them into the community.

During the remainder of the week as we attended Annual Conference, I was further blessed by extraordinary fellowship as I reconnected with members of my church who have supported me throughout my faith journey, shared further time with many new friends from this summer, and developed a greater connection to the church through interactions with strangers bonded by our shared faith. I was again inspired particularly by the young adults in the church. One night we gathered together to meet the moderator-elect, and as I looked around the room I saw pastors, members of Brethren Volunteer Service, social justice activists, students, and a lot of friends. I cherish these relationships as role models, for I too can live out my faith at this point in my life.

Peace, Sara

Hey everyone! What a week it was. Even though our time at Brethren Woods was short, I felt like we made an impact with the campers and counselors. From the minute we stepped in the door, the staff was welcoming us with their arms wide open, inviting us to join in on their Harry Potter Movie Marathon. During a break from watching movies, the team and a few counselors had a deep discussion about our faith journeys, how we viewed conflict resolution in relation to the Bible, and our path to discovering our individual theologies. It was really awesome to be able to share something so personal with each other and a new counselor on the first night we were at camp. I also really appreciate the bonds I quickly made with other counselors and campers who connected with me through our interactions outside of sessions.

At Annual Conference, I was refreshed to spend time with my church family and other friends in the larger denomination who I have formed relationships over the years of being involved in denominational activities. This being my first Annual Conference as an adult, I was interested to see the process of how business worked. It was really cool to see the delegates get through all of the queries essentially in one day. My favorite part from conference was my time with the K-2 activities. This is an age group the team will not see again this summer and it was awesome to witness their energy. I read a book to them called “What does peace feel like?” The book asks questions about peace through the different senses. When we got to the big question of what does peace feel like, one kid said, “Peace feels like it fills a hole in your heart.” Hearing these words from such young people are so inspiring to a young adult. This was just one of the many wise descriptions that the “youngins” said. My favorite question from the book was what does peace taste like, and many of the children answered, ICE CREAM! So with that being said, I will sign off with:

Hello friends! Welcome to the first YPTT 2015 blog! Here’s how this tiny glimpse into our weeks at camp will work! Each week we will have a little intro that says where we were and then each of the team members will write a short blurb about their experiences that week! Hope you enjoy reading!

We of the YPTT 2015, Annika, Brianna, and Kerrick, have just finished up our first week of camp here at Camp Brethren Woods. If you have not been to this amazing place you most certainly should take the trip out!! We got to work alongside the wonderful staff here and had a great group of campers to work with as well! Here’s what we each thought about the week!

Hello! My name is Kerrick and I love donuts! Our team just finished the week at Brethren Woods, which was an awesome and different experience for me, personally! I have grown up going to church camp my whole life, (shout out to Camp Colorado and Camp Mt Hermon!!!) but Brethren Woods was by far the largest camp I had ever been to! It was so cool to have multiple age groups there at the same time, and for our team to have the chance to work with all of them. One of my highlights from the week was the Water Carnival that we had one evening. I got to help run the snack station (ICE CREAM!) which meant that I got to talk to all of the campers as they came by to get their snack. It was so cool to see all of them having so much fun together and was just an awesome time in general! I also really appreciated the sessions that we got to lead with the campers and the discussions that accompanied those. It is always so amazing to see how smart and wise kids can be, sometimes completely out of the blue! This was an excellent first week, and I am definitely looking forward to the rest of the summer as well!

Greetings, this is Annika. The week at Brethren Woods went swimmingly! A highlight was hiking up a mountain to a waterfall where we lead a peace session and cooked dinner over the fire. The hike was so beautiful and the water felt wonderful to jump into after hiking for 2 miles. It was also a great time to get to know some of the campers as we scaled the mountain. The sessions we led were quite dynamic. I was excited that there were many different opinions spoken during our time with the campers. This was my first time at a Church of the Brethren camp because I went to a Mennonite camp called Menno Haven. I was so impressed by the enthusiasm of the campers and staff. Brethren Woods was so welcoming to the Peace Team and I couldn’t ask for a better start to the summer. Until next time!

Brianna here! When I first arrived at Camp Brethren Woods, it was dark, so I couldn’t see much of the beautiful sky and mountains that framed the camp. On the inside, I must have been the same way. I started this summer worrying about everything I could do wrong, and it distracted me from all the fun I could have been having. Brethren Woods boasts a hilarious and hospitable staff, as well as energetic, fun loving campers. I was so distracted that I ran into some obstacles – quite literally. (Word of caution, if you are canoeing, try not to run into any trees dipping into the water. I became caught in the branches, covered in bugs, and was nearly knocked out of the canoe!) I had to learn to fall into the rhythm of things. Kids are an insightful bunch, and I was reminded of that throughout the week. I stopped worrying so much about perfection and let the kids lead things where they needed to be and we had some great discussions. I definitely enjoyed hearing all the perspectives each kid had, and all their worldly awareness. I made it out of the branches, and got some good pictures of the mountain scenery.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, friends! As you can probably tell, we greatly enjoyed our time, and are off to a great start this summer! Until next time, stay awesome and bring the peace!